Thune’s Budget Tug-of-War: Trump Demands Meet Senate Realities

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he still lacks the 50 votes to pass the party-wide budget plan and faces pressure from President Trump to move a third GOP bill, including the SAVE America Act on election security, before the Senate recesses for summer. White House aides are pushing reconcilation 3.0, but GOP skeptics warn the path involves new committee hurdles and tough, vote-heavy trade-offs as Republicans juggle defense spending, internal divisions, and a year-end stopgap ahead of the midterms.